Leveling Up by Executing Monsters

Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Don’t Tell Me I’ve Been Cursed?

[Ding~ Madness Value +300]

[Ding~ Madness Value +300]

Lloyd had finished his duties for the day rather efficiently, dealing with a total of five Level -3 Demon Ghosts.

These five had been quite "fat," each yielding an average of two sets of recoverable organs, which slowed the whole process down, taking him nearly two hours.

But when he returned to the first floor, ready to take off his white coat and go read, he suddenly heard a quarrel break out near the main entrance.

"There’s no way we’re letting you clowns take Lloyd away!"

"That’s right! I will protect Lloyd!"

"I’ve been stanning Lloyd since the day I was born!"

’What’s going on? What’s happening?’

Lloyd was bewildered. He quickly changed his clothes and ran over, only to find a standoff happening outside Tower Nine.

On one side, Weiya was leading the charge, her beautiful face set in a stern expression as she blocked the entrance, refusing to yield an inch.

She was surrounded by a dozen or so clamoring Executors.

And at the very edge of the crowd, Meditis was "having her morning tea"—GULP GULP GULP—the strong smell of alcohol wafting over from a great distance.

Facing off against them were also some of Lloyd’s "old acquaintances": several Saint’s Hunters wearing cartoonish fox masks.

Their captain was shrugging helplessly and holding out his hands, trying to show he meant no harm, and explained in an exasperated tone:

"I’m truly an old acquaintance of Lloyd’s. He’s even helped me out twice. I would never harm him. It’s just that this case is special, and I need him to come with me for a bit. It’s really not what you’re thinking... Judge Weiya, surely you can trust me, right?"

Another Hunter in a fox mask beside him helped explain:

"Yes, the Saint’s Grace Court isn’t an unreasonable place. How could we dare touch one of your people? It’s just that this new colleague of mine is new and doesn’t quite understand the rules, so he was a bit offensive... But in any case, we’re all members of the Sect who follow the Saint. There should be more trust between us."

’What is all this fuss about?’

Lloyd quickly moved closer.

The moment he appeared, the captain on the other side looked as if he’d seen his savior and waved at him repeatedly.

But as Lloyd took a few more steps forward, Weiya suddenly blocked his path and said in a low voice:

"They say you’re involved in a murder case and want to take you in. Don’t agree. Wait for Chief of Staff Golas to come and handle it."

Between Captain Fox and Weiya, Lloyd naturally trusted Weiya unconditionally. He nodded and didn’t respond to the captain’s enthusiastic greeting.

Just then, the Chief of Staff, whose last few hairs were fluttering messily in the wind, finally arrived.

He demonstrated his professionalism by first dispersing the crowd of onlookers, then questioning both sides about the situation.

Finally, he made a decision:

"I will prepare a sufficiently private conference room for you in Tower One. You can conduct whatever investigation you need there. We will not interfere. Lloyd, you cooperate with them... But rest assured, no one can take you away by force."

Completely out of the loop, Lloyd nodded.

But Captain Fox still tried to negotiate:

"But, sir... this isn’t exactly according to our regulations..."

The Chief of Staff smiled and replied:

"I know. But this is the Eighteenth District. Here, the only rules are Lord Tirtus’s rules."

Seeing that he had invoked the Chief Judge, the captain could naturally say no more. He could only nod reluctantly.

"Alright, if you insist..."

With that, he shook his head at his other two subordinates, gesturing for them to leave. He took only his trusted subordinate and followed the Chief of Staff.

The group soon arrived at a conference room on the second floor of Tower One. Only the two Hunters and Lloyd went inside.

Once the conference room door closed, soundproofing Orbits activated one after another, ensuring they would not be disturbed.

"Whew... Your girlfriend is really fierce, isn’t she? She looked like she was about to draw her blade and cut me down..."

The captain spoke first in a half-joking, half-serious tone. He casually pulled up a chair and sat down, then, as if by magic, pulled out a coffee siphon and pot, set them up on the table in front of the three of them, and lit the burner.

The Hunter he’d brought with him also produced a kettle, coffee beans, and a grinder as if by magic, and began grinding the beans on the spot.

Lloyd stared, stunned, and quickly said:

"She’s not my girlfriend... Also, how did you do that?"

"Hm? They didn’t issue you a ’Magic Pocket’? Oh, right, you’re an Executioner. You wouldn’t be issued one, to prevent you from lining your own pockets during executions..."

"A Magic Pocket? Is it some kind of spatial storage item?"

"What are you thinking, my dear superstar? That kind of equipment only exists in cheap pulp novels, don’t you think?"

Captain Fox laughed, then explained:

"Although, a Magic Pocket could be considered a crude substitute for something like that. I can explain it to you in detail later if you’re interested. For now, why don’t we get down to business? Of course, we can also wait until the coffee is ready."

"Alright. So, why did you want to take me away?"

Lloyd asked proactively.

Captain Fox adjusted the mask on his face and answered:

"There is indeed a murder case that requires your assistance. But in reality... we didn’t want to take you away. At least, I didn’t. I’d much rather finish the job like this, over a cup of coffee. But inevitably, someone reminded me that I have to follow the rules...

Never mind, neither of us needs to worry about that. After all, the Chief of Staff stepped in, didn’t he? Let’s get back to the case itself—

The renowned critic, Gedok, with whom you recently had contact and signed an agreement, was found dead in his luxury apartment."

"What?"

This time, Lloyd was truly shocked. He had just seen the sponsored article he bought from the man two hours ago, and now he was dead?

’Could it be that the editor on the other end was no pushover and just skipped straight to the real-life PvP stage?’

"Take a look at the crime scene photos."

The captain took out several black-and-white photos and handed them to Lloyd, then began observing the changes in his expression.

The photos showed a body, so mangled it was barely human. The person had been almost completely chopped into pieces, which were then scattered into a bizarre pattern.

But there wasn’t a trace of blood on the floor, nor were there any residual organs. It was as if the entire body had been hollowed out beforehand and only then dismembered.

Although the photos were black and white, they were sharp and comprehensive, taken from various angles. A normal person would certainly have a visceral reaction to seeing them.

But Lloyd merely furrowed his brow and patiently examined each photo, one by one.

The captain sitting across from him couldn’t help but nod in approval.

About ten minutes later, Lloyd finally spoke.

"How was this done?"

As an expert in dissection, although he had never worked on a human, some basic principles were the same. He could tell at a glance that the wounds on the body were abnormal. They didn’t look like they were made by a blade; rather, it seemed the body had been forcibly torn apart by some immense force.

Like a human tearing apart a rag doll...

This was clearly the work of some kind of Extraordinary Power.

But the critic’s apartment was in the Central District, the most core and secure area, from which one could directly see the Veto Sanctuary. It was arguably the safest area in the city.

Who would dare commit such a brutal and vicious murder right under the Saint’s nose?

’The newspaper editor couldn’t be that powerful, could he?’

"The body was discovered last night by the apartment manager. Our people conducted a preliminary investigation and then tossed this hot potato to my squad... But I don’t have much information at the moment either. I can only confirm that he died from an exceptionally vicious technique—

[Cost Transfer]."

the captain said, before asking another question:

"Have you heard of it?"

"Only by name. It seems to be a high-level power within the [Curse] system?"

Lloyd recalled the steward’s notes. They had briefly mentioned [Cost Transfer] but didn’t go into detail, only launching into a string of curses with exceptionally crude language.

At the time, he thought the steward just hated evil with a passion, but looking back now, it felt more like impotent rage...

’He probably suffered a major loss because of it...’

The captain then gave Lloyd a rough explanation.

To put it simply, [Cost Transfer] isn’t an offensive ability, but rather a special type of Divination. After a series of cruel and inhumane preparations within the [Curse] system, it makes a victim bear the consequences and dangers of the Divination in the user’s stead.

It was undoubtedly an exceptionally vicious technique...

And in the critic’s case, it was clear that the killer had performed a Divination on something terrifying and then transferred the fallout to the victim...

"But the problem is, [Cost Transfer] doesn’t work just by chanting a Spell. It requires several days of continuous preparation... In other words, during the time the killer was making these preparations, you paid him a visit and signed an agreement with him..."

As the captain spoke, he noticed Lloyd suddenly grow tense, starting to constantly touch his own body and look at his hands.

"Uh? Why so nervous all of a sudden? I’m not suspecting you, I just want to understand the situation at the time."

"No, no, it’s just... I did visit him, and I had his black tea and dessert. I’m afraid I might have been cursed..."

"Er... you should stop scaring yourself. We are followers of the Veto Saint. Unless a fiend from the [Curse] system has a screw loose, they wouldn’t target us. Besides, you have the powerful Lord Tirtus by your side."

The captain first offered some words of comfort, then handed Lloyd a cup of coffee and continued:

"Alright, first, try this coffee I brought from the City of Order. Calm down, and then let’s recall the scene together, shall we?"

Lloyd nodded, but still used his inspiration to give himself a thorough check from head to toe. Only after confirming there were no problems did he pick up the coffee and take a sip.

’Fuck! It’s so bitter!’

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!